


3 Minutes, Choose Wisely

by nikkori_writing



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Episode Fix-It: s04e03 The Final Problem, Episode: s04e03 The Final Problem, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:08:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29657334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkori_writing/pseuds/nikkori_writing
Summary: He wished this game his sister plays would stop. With a life on the line, a life of a little girl gambled in the game, Mycroft Holmes, Doctor John Watson, and his best friend Sherlock Holmes were playing a game that would put themselves as soldiers. But what happens if there was one more life, one more piece of Sherlock that would break the man in every sense of the word?ORSet in Season 4's, The Final Problem. That instead of Molly, (bcs i hate seeing her feeling hurt) let's have more angst with Irene in it.
Relationships: Irene Adler/Sherlock Holmes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

"John..." The detective calls out to his closest friend, who was visibly harboring great hostility towards what he had just witnessed and the actions of his sister. His friend turns to look at him, breathing heavily "don't let her distract you..."

"Distract me–?"

"Soldiers today." 

He announces firmly and awaits until John had relaxed his shoulders and fully regained his composure, all along with side a sigh. Sherlock gives his friend a small affirmative nod and spares a glance to his brother Mycroft whose face had completely displayed fear. The Iceman man melts in every room they enter. Sherlock did not wait for another moment and soon walks out of the hangman room, with John hot on his trail, while Mycroft took slow and uneasy steps to follow suit.

Sherlock enters the room first, pistol in his clasped hands and his pace easy and careful. Once inside, he starts to observe and the first thing he sees is a single square table. Said table was covered with a white table cloth, napkins neatly folded with style on the white porcelain plates and beside them. Utensils placed lining from smallest to biggest beside both plates, additional to the set were two wine glasses and the spices for the food placed in the middle. He takes a pause and looks up to the ceiling and finally, his observations end as he looks at the single rose, elegant and beautifully placed in a glass vase.

_'One more minute on the phone.'_ His sisters announce from the speakers and what comes after was white noise and static until they could finally hear the little girl on the plain.

_'I'm frightened! I'm really frightened!'_ The little shouts, her voice shakes still.

Sherlock closes his eyes tight for a small portion of time, forcing his mind to focus on the matter at hand "It's okay, don't worry." First, he attempts to soothe the little girl, and then asks "I don't have very long with you, so I just need you to tell me what you can see outside the plane."

There was a pause, but the little girl responded _'Just the sea. I can see the sea...'_

"Are there ships on it?"

_'No ships– I can see light in the distance!'_

"Is it a city?"

_'I think so...'_

Sherlock shares a glance with John and to his brother, his eyes slightly wide out of sheer panic that he did not want to deal with in a situation such as this. Mycroft then spoke first, low in a whisper, saying "She's about to crash on a city in a pilotless plane. We'll have to talk her through it."

John turns to look at him with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows "Through what?"

_'Hello? Are you still there?'_ The little girl cries.

"Still here– just give us a minute." Sherlock catches her question and once again walks around at the table and continues his deductions while his best friend and brother think of a silly way to help the little girl fly the plane.

"Getting the plane away from the mainland, any populated areas. It has to crash at the sea."

John looks at him in disbelief, his brows knot further "What about the girl?"

"Well obviously, Dr. Watson, she's the one who's going to crash it."

John looks at Mycroft for a moment and responds "No." He said firmly, making Sherlock look up from the table and to his friend "We're going to help her land it."

"But if we fail and she crashes into a city? How many will die then?" Mycroft insists on his solution.

"How are we going to get her to do that?"

There was a pause from Mycroft. John had observed that the man was looking for the right words to say and he hesitates on saying them point loud. Bit it didn't take long for him to gather his courage and say, "I'm afraid we're going to have to give her hope."

And it was very clear to the former Iceman that the doctor had thought ill of his solution as he visibly shows signs of disgust and confusion. Yes he made a fool of himself to think of that way to possibly save the little girl and whoever else was on board the plane, but he couldn't think of anything else. Their hands were tied.

"Is there no one there that can help you? Have you really, really, checked?" They hear Sherlock raise his voice as he made sure the little girl had heard his voice.

_'Everyone's asleep. Will you help me?'_

"We're going to do everything we can." They could all hear his voice shake. Whereas Sherlock had almost grimace at the fact that his hesitation had taken a toll on his heart and mind.

_'I'm scared– I'm really scared!'_

"It's alright I—" but before he could continue, he hears the line went off and he had lost connection to the little girl. He looks to the monitor which shows the video camera of his sister. He glares at her through the screen.

_'Now, back at the matter at hand.'_ She announces to everyone in the room like a teacher proceeding with her lesson "The table." She says as if to tease and their eyes were led to look at the neatly set table which stood in the middle of their room.

_'Problem, someone is about to die. It will be, as I understand it, a tragedy. So many days not lived, so many words unsaid... Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera–'_

"Yes, yes, yes, but what I don't understand is that instead of a coffin, you would go beyond your way to set up a dinner table." Sherlock cuts Eurus off, visibly annoyed with her repeating her last words said.

Eurus smirks _'Then here's your question: who would have gone beyond their way just to plan this out? Please, start your deductions. I will apply some context in a moment.'_ Her words end there and his sister finally mutes herself from the office, now once again watching as they go through another level from her game.

Sherlock takes a walk to the seat that faces the monitor positioned near the other end of the room. On the other hand, John had let himself observe everything about the table while Mycroft did the same. Sherlock takes a breath and lets out his earlier deductions.

"Well, allowing for the entirely pointless courtesy of field for the table, I'd say this set is from a seaside restaurant. Obviously, a table for two."

"Not an indoors restaurant?" Asks John as he also scans the table.

"Fancy indoor restaurants would often choose a specific type of chair, something comfortable, and apparently the hardest ones to clean contrary to this one which would be easily moved and arraigned. Coloring suggests setting a mood for their restaurant. The table cloth is thin, also easy to clean. Also, the missing source of light, now, if it was indoors, a candle placed in the center gives it away but instead, a single rose is set there, also suggests that a woman had reserved this table and the meeting place. The restaurant is the average priced one for tourists of other countries, which was given away by the respective utensils and is one of the best places for a date. It also suggests that this woman who had suggested to have met there wanted to make it discreet, a smart thought to hide in plain sight in the guise of being just another normal person amongst others. The man that she had invited seems to be a lawyer, a wealthy one as well, which says that this woman is in the process of negotiating with him about—"

"Yes, very good, Sherlock, or we could just look at the name in this note for you."

Sherlock had not noticed that his brother had moved towards the table, and he also hasn't noticed the note he held in between his fingers. Mycroft then opens the letter and hoisted it up for Sherlock and John to see. 

"Only it isn't a name."

And when he reads the letter a surprising number of times, he finally decides to look away, as if the letter had burned his eyes like the sun and made his way in between the chairs, his hands on the table, eyes wide frothed the realization that had finally dawned to him. While John took the small folded note in his hand and observes the perfectly written words in cursive.

> _I love you, Goodbye._

John took a deep breath and nods "So it's from somebody, who loves somebody and left them." He says as John looks at Mycroft for confirmation.

"It's from somebody who loves Sherlock. And apparently, they happen to be planning on drifting away." Mycroft counters with his usual tone of voice as he and John shifts their gazes to Sherlock who's back now faces them.

"This is all about you, everything here," Mycroft says and the room went silent. The older Holmes watches his brother from behind, deducing whatever was going inside his mind. While the good doctor has his gaze on the floor however there were in seeing as he was thinking deeply about what was written inside the small note. And finally, Mycroft asks the question Sherlock never wanted to be discussed in such a situation.

"So, who loves you? I'm assuming it's not a long list."

John then looks up from the floor and walks to Sherlock's side "Obvious, Molly Hooper."

"Don't be ridiculous- haven't you heard what I said about the host?"

Sherlock said almost out of breath as it reached John's ears. He looked at his friend quizzically and what his face had shown could only be described as realization and panic. The detective had felt his blood run cold and couldn't help but think of anything else but her. Of course, he was relieved to have known his friend Molly Hooper had no part in this game, which she wouldn't be harmed in any way his sister had prepared. But this was far too much. He had taken her out of his games in return for what she had done, one of them was helping him end the spider's web. And after that, he had sworn to protect her from afar. So had he failed? His heart pounds inside his chest and his hands on the smooth table cloth had started to tremble. Everything was coming at him at an intense speed. He cannot take more.

"...What about... the host have I missed..?" He hears John call out to him in a careful whisper, the letter still in his hand. Sherlock spares a small glance at the letter and then locks his eyes with the single rose displayed inside the glass vase. A replica of the same place and rose he had seen she dropped off in his hospital room.

And before he could stop himself, he hears himself answer unconsciously "Discreet... Intelligent... On the run..." Every word that leaves his mouth felt like daggers repeatedly impaling his heart. And John couldn't help but think back to their conversation a few weeks ago. And just like his friend, realization dawns on him.

"The Woman –"Irene..."

Both spoke in unison but their answers were contrary to the other. John couldn't believe what he's heard from his friend's mouth. All these years of calling her The Woman as a salute to her intellect and the strategic ways she constructs through her life and now he hears him call her by her first name as if a pleading to God or to whoever watches over them from above.

_'She's perfectly safe, for the moment. She happens to pay a visit to a friend, from what the agents I sent have reported. But I had her flat is rigged to explode in approximately three minutes. Unless I hear the release code from her lips.'_

Erurus's words cut through the silent room and the monitor inside flashes camera angles of what Sherlock believes to be her current flat in the country she currently resides, Montenegro. The first camera from the top left was placed faced to the front door from the inside of the building. At the bottom left, shows an angle of the stairs that leads to her flat. The bottom right section of the monitor shows the wooden door to her flat. While the timer is still and at the top right corner of the screen. Sherlock's eyes linger on the footage of the building's front door, waiting and pleading for her not to return. Praying for The Woman to realize that her life was being gambled once again in this game he was not willing to play.

_'Now while we wait, I'd like to tell a story to the three of you.'_ She says in a soft tone that a mother would tend to use. However, there wasn't anything soothing about it at all.

"A story? Right now? Can't you pick another time to tell us that?" John complains as he turns to look at his sister on the monitor. Visibly annoyed by this ongoing suffering she casts upon his friend.

_'Oh, but you'll love it. It would also be fair so no one was to be left in the dark of what happened in those two months ago._ ' Eurus insists carrying her proud smirk.

"When two months..?" Asks John, and soon glances in Sherlock's direction followed by Mycroft's stare from behind, his brows furrowed, confused as well.

"Why bother including me in the counting?" Sherlock then raises his head to look at his sister "I did all of that... To keep her safe."

_'Of course, you did. There is nothing in this world you wouldn't do to save her, I know.'_ Eurus says and Sherlock's head had thought back to the time Mary Watson had said those lines to him, pleading and attempting to persuade him not to tell John about her past.

_'But it was just texting, right?'_ And with those words, that we're very similar to his own, the younger Holme's eyes go wide.

"...How..."

_'You haven't had a good eye on her after that haven't you?'_

"Eurus..." 

He tries to call her out ask her more about what she's witnessed. But all he had in return was her maniacal giggles and the suspicion in both John and Mycroft's eyes. Sherlock felt exposed. So exposed but before he could speak again, Eurus beats him to it.

_'Once upon a time, there was a damsel in distress! A smart one however she had caught herself in a position that caused her life. Then came her knight in shining armor came.'_ He knew that she had seen how he had taken a sharp breath. So she knew of this too. 

_'Of course, before the sun had risen, she was saved, made sure she was kept safe and far from harm's way. Not long after they would often make plans to visit the other and every visit felt like a fairytale. But every time the knight had made sure she was hidden safely, he leaves and every time he does, he feels such sweet sorrow.'_

"Enough." John hears Sherlock say in a firm tone, though full of hatred and heartache. But his sister was not compelled by his plea.

_'Oh but the Knight knew so little afterward. He had never been able to leave his kingdom for the longest of times so, she goes beyond her way to see him!'_ The tone of her voice went a pitch higher, tho her mocking had not wavered from her words. Though her words had not failed to stir something in John's head.

"Eurus..." Sherlock warned but it did not faze his sister.

_'Ah, but after seeing her knight dance with another woman, her heart was set.'_ Now, this, this was beyond Sherlock. _'She's made her choice and stares at her Knight one last time before she turns to leave. She thought it was best for the both of them.'_

John opened his mouth, hoping a question would come out of it but nothing was heard. He was in disbelief at what he had just heard. And anyone who had not gotten the point of Eurus's story was a fool. But John was no fool to sentiment. And Sherlock knows that more than he cared to admit.

"She... She was there..?" John says and they suddenly hear a lock being undone and a door opening. They all turn to the screen and stared at the monitor in terror.

_'Ah! Look who's finally come home!'_

Eurus cheers, her hands clasped together as the person who they had awaited to arrive finally returns to the safety of their home. And this is where Sherlock had felt himself freeze and his breath caught in his throat.

_Irene..!_

_To be Continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

The Woman finally makes herself known as she entered her house. The three of them couldn't do anything but watch as she was to enter her flat and meet death face to face. The Woman busies herself by hanging her coat by the coat rack and setting her bag down to take off her long and black high-cut boots. She was then seen fishing for the keys to her flat while she ascends to the second floor of the building to her wooden door, her flat numbered 112A, the exact opposite number on his door. She was still on her way up when Eurus spoke again, calling all of their attention to her with that dangerous tone of voice, but they couldn't look away from the monitor.

_'Again, I've rigged her flat to explode in approximately three minutes, unless I hear the release code from her lips. I will be calling her on your phone, Sherlock.'_

There was nothing to be said to that. The Woman was to die. The phrase has repeatedly echoed inside everyone's heads especially in Sherlock's and John could see them clear as day. He kept glancing back and forth from the screen to his friend, worried how this will affect him. And he was sure Mycroft had done the same from behind. And he couldn't help feeling bad for the one Irene Adler, who remained oblivious to her current situation. And John knew bloody well that if she was to disappear– if they have failed to save her, it would shatter something substantial inside the heart of the great Sherlock Holmes.

_'Make her say it.'_

And to that, John was caught off guard, and he finally looks at Eurus "Say what?"

"Obvious, surely," Sherlock answers his question, quicker than he had intended it to be.

"No," John argues back.

"Yes" and as the younger Holmes says so, all three eyes gaze down at the letter in John's firm hold.

The doctor's eyes furrowed in confusion "How is it obvious when there are two phrases here? It could be either one of them."

And with that Sherlock had nothing to argue with, which led to John worrying about what he had in mind. The doctor looks back at the letter and thinks of the possible choice for The Woman. She would emit the words "I Love You" so easily for both of them, it would mean her ultimate defeat in their power play, which was infuriating on John's part because they were still playing this little game all while being reluctant about what they feel for each other. And she wouldn't say "Goodbye" for it would mean both her loss and the end of whatever she and Sherlock ever had. It was similar to a key to something she wouldn't dare use to lock all her memories of him and toss the little box into the sea, walking away as it drifts by. John looks up to Sherlock but then caught what Mycroft's face had expressed as if he had read his best friend's mind.

"Sherlock..." Mycroft starts but Eurus had grown tired of their worries and cuts him off.

_'Oh, one important restriction, you're not allowed to mention in any way at all that her life is in danger. You may not, at any point, suggest that there is any form of crisis. If you do, I will end this session and her life. Are we clear?'_

John could hear his heart pounding in his ear, his expression froze and his hands shake while his arms were crossed, gripping the fabric of his coat. This game was to start and Sherlock wasn't as ready as he wanted to show. His eyes had never left The Woman who was inside her flat and had set her bags down. She was moving around the house, as another woman would when back in her house, as another person would do on a normal day. She walks in and out of her bedroom after changing in a simple white shirt while her pants remained. And now Sherlock had watched her until Irene made her last stop at the kitchen, she had set her phone down the counter and goes to the cupboards. It surprised them how Eurus had not forced the game to start, instead, she waits for Sherlock to start, while she had waited, Eurus watches him, observing him and doing her deductions in her massive hard drive.

And John's heart had skipped a beat when Sherlock finally nods for the session to start. His sister then sets the mood as she plays the recorded Moriarty video, repeatedly copying the typical sound a clock would make. And when it stops, the timer starts at the same time as they hear The Woman's phone ring. The ringing echoes inside the gray room and they watched as she had twirled around gracefully, abandoning her previous task to look at her phone.

And when she had, John noticed her back away slightly. Why was she hesitating? Sherlock was calling her. And he felt a strong punch as she turns away from her phone and back to what she was doing.

John's eyes go wide "What is she doing?"

"She's making coffee," Sherlock answers in a low, and almost defeated tone.

"But why isn't she answering her phone?"

"Well, does Sherlock ever call her at such an unexpected time?"

"But it's _Sherlock_ calling!" John argued back as he looked back at the screen.

The ringing goes on three times until it reaches the voice mail which had made everyone in the room frozen in shock of who's automated voice had come out.

_'Hello, this is Godfrey Norton, Lara Norton's husband. Whoever you are, my wife is a bit busy and I suggest you call her later. Oh but please, leave a message.'_

The voice mail ends and John's eyes immediately shift to Sherlock. The night on Sherlock's birthday, after they had met with Molly and the others on that cake place, Sherlock had told John about her recent text after she greets him. He had told John that Irene had said revised her last alias to 'Lara Wolfe' with the following message saying, _'Don't bother worrying about me, enjoy dinner.'_ And the message ends with her typical dent, _IA_. And after that, there wasn't another text from her. Just how long were the date gaps of her messages were now? A month? A year? And now knowing of this, The Woman has found a husband without saying anything to his friend. Was this a setup or was this real? John wanted to believe she had some sort of purpose to have Mr. Norton walk around with the title of husband. But he just couldn't help feeling so much contempt for this secrecy. If she had a purpose, why didn't she let Sherlock know?

He could see Sherlock visibly devasted over what he's heard. But he could also see how he desperately pushed the man out of his head and focuses on saving The Woman. The one woman who matters. He takes a breath and closes his eyes, desperate to concentrate.

_'Ok, ok, just one more time.'_ Says Eurus as she once again rings Irene Adler's phone.

It rings with the same amount of time and the timer never did stop growing down. It was almost two minutes in and hasn't made a move closer to her phone. Irene finally finishes making coffee and takes a sip as she stares at her phone, contemplating to pick up or leave the person who calls to give up.

Annoyed by this, John swears in a whisper "Go on, woman, pick up– just bloody pick up."

And as if someone had whispered in her ear a reason to move her hands to her phone, The Woman finally succumbs to her choice and eyes the caller number with... Depressing expression, however with confusion as her brows visibly furrowed slightly and she pursed her lips. They watched as she takes a deep breath and finally taps the screen and led it up to her ear.

"Mr. Holmes, what this is a surprise. I do recall you making a call if you're actually in the country. But you're not. What seems to be the rush?" Irene answers with her typical playful tone.

They could see her smile, however, it did not reach her ears, nor happiness was present. Yet she had set her mug down, laid her elbow on her arm, and swayed. She didn't seem to mind his call now. So what were her worries all about? John could only watch the scene unfold and listens to Sherlock's response.

"Hello, Ms. Adler... Do forgive me for calling you at such an unprecedented time." He says in a low voice. "I... Only wanted to... Congratulate you..."

John and Mycroft were aghast at Sherlock's sudden trembling of words. As if he had forced those words out of his throat. The man's shoulders looked relaxed if someone were to look from behind. But once his clenched hands and shuddering breath were taken to note If, his potential lie of being unmoved by the situation and his own words would be futile. They watched as The Woman's brows rose, surprised as both John and Mycroft while her swaying had stopped.

She made a chuckle "Congratulate? About what?"

John watched as Sherlock took a deep breath and said "... Your marriage."

The Woman's smile had disappeared and her eyes had widened. Her shuddering breath was heard unintentionally and quickly removed the phone from her ear, and thankfully, she did not end the call. Was this simply shock? Or fear? John couldn't quite place what was written on her face. They were now two minutes in. And Sherlock had to make this quick even if the process would leave a scar. 

**00:03:45**

"It was the voicemail, wasn't it?" The Woman finally spoke, supporting her words with her playful smirk. Only that it had not done its job to make her look in control.

Sherlock's eyes avoided the monitor and only gave a firm nod "Yes. And I believe... I won't be of use to you anymore?"

"Oh, darling, don't make yourself a tool for my protection. We both know I have my ways in this world... Still, I was glad I met you."

Everyone had widened their eyes to her words and it had also caught the detective's attention. As if he had not expected her to say such words to him. Why was she speaking this way? The younger Holmes hearts his heart hammering inside his chest and his body trembling. He had missed something. Again. The Woman had kept something from him. And so had Eurus. He was pushed out of his thoughts once he had heard her speak.

**00:02:36**

"Without you... I wouldn't have learned what it means to risk everything for one person. You've thought me so much and I don't know how to repay you for it."

Her voice was shaking and the room felt colder while the three of them bathed in fear for The Woman's life. These words, these sentiments shared were all very new in their ears. They've been so caught up in how she had spoken with fierce and an unfazed expression that sat on her face. But this. Whatever Sherlock had done or said to The Woman, she had changed. The Woman was still there only with an added hint of... Something they couldn't quite name. They watched as Sherlock looked in the monitors with true fear in his eyes.

"No, no, no– why are you talking like this?" He asked in a shaky breath.

Irene takes a sharp breath and seemed to have tightened her grip on the phone "Please let us not play games anymore, Mr. Holmes... You know why."

**00:01:50**

Sherlock's eyes shift back and forth from Irene Alder and the timer "No... I don't know why..."

The Woman lets out a forced smile "I'm sorry... But the game ends here, dont you agree?

"What..." John had unconsciously whispered in the room while Mycroft had also gone worried.

She was going to do something rash after the call. She was going away. And he was never going to see her again.

**00:01:22**

"Mr. Holmes I..."

"NO, IRENE PLEASE DON'T— DO NOT HANG UP!"

Desperate. That would suffice as the very reason for his words, he had even reached out to her as if she was just inches away from his grasp. But she wasn't. And John had just noticed that where ever she was, the house was neatly tidied up. There were three hidden cameras before they had been removed and only showed Irene on the screen. From as far as he could remember the cameras showed how all the furniture were clean as if she had not touched them the previous days before, which had led John to think. Where was she going? Or is she really leaving?

"Softer, Sherlock!" Euros said, reminding what was at cost if he ever revealed what was to happen to her.

"Mr. Holmes..."

"Irene," he cuts her off first "... Why are you talking like this? Where are you?"

She lets out a long sigh through her nose "It's too late... You can't always save me, Sherlock."

"No, no, there's still a way just– just tell me where you are!"

The woman gave a brief pause and closes her eyes and a tear falls from one of them "You know, you were wrong about me."

"... How?"

Irene ducks her head down and her shoulders squared "You told me I was... Strong. On the contrary, darling, I'm not."

**00:01:04**

They had forgotten the timer and they never expected The Woman to be the one that had more to say in this exchange. She had forced something on them, showing them something and they didn't know what it was. She was afraid of something, that for one was visible to see.

"Irene, please. Tell me where you are."

She shakes her head "I can't."

"... Why?"

"... You'd come after me."

She's said that before, John thought to himself and was about to comment on the matter however it seemed that he already knew the context behind it.

**00:00:50**

"Why... wouldn't you want that?"

"I told you... You know why..."

"Then tell me... Please."

**00:00:40**

Irene chuckles humorlessly "You say it first."

"... What..."

"Go on... Say it. Even if it means losing the game."

**00:00:30**

"I..." Sherlock starts, John and Mycroft had not meant to hold their breath "... I love you."

They see The Woman blinks and stares at some part of the first yet her eyes were unseeing then led the phone away from her ear and stare at it with her eyebrows furrowed, containing herself from pouring more tears for the man that had bestowed his feelings to her. She looked as if she didn't want to believe what she's heard, or she wasn't expecting to hear it from him. And she had remained silent, the phone had slowly made it back to her ear while her eyes had remained closed. The Woman contemplates replying to what he's said.

**00:00:10**

"Irene," Sherlock pleads while he watched the timer go down. John and Mycroft had done the same. "Please..."

**00:00:02**

"Goodbye... Sherlock." She said and the timer stops.

Everyone lets out a long and heavy sigh while Sherlock held his head with both hands while he held the gun at the other. The phone call cuts and the screen went black, while the room went quiet and everyone tries to regain their strength. John held one of the chairs for support while Mycroft had only had a watchful eye on his brother, also with a tint of concern pouring out. The detective had finally fixed his posture and his breathing pattern never did recover.

"Sherlock, however hard that was..."

"Eurus, I won– I won!" Sherlock cuts him off as if he had never heard his brother call and focused back on his sister who stares in awe at the devastated man. But when she did not speak, Sherlock calls for her again "Come on, play fair. The girl on the plane, I need to talk to her!"

There it was again silence, which had driven Sherlock to shout "I won– I saved The Woman!"

_'Huh!'_ His sister sneers _'Saved her? From what? Oh, do be sensible, there were no explosives in her little flat. Why would I be so clumsy? You didn't win, you lost. Look what you did to her. Look what you did to yourself. All those complicated little emotions, I lost count. Emotional context, Sherlock, it destroys you every time.'_ Eurus continues her lecture while Sherlock had moved in slow strides to the table and with a loud thud, he places the pistol down, utensils responding to the sound.

_'Now, please, pull yourself together. I need you at peak efficiency. The next one isn't going to be so easy.'_ Eurus added and opens the door with one press of a button from the older Holmes' office. 'In your own time.' She adds before muting her mic once again.

John and Mycroft had stared at the door for a good amount of time before they proceed to walk inside the other room. They then hear Sherlock's shuffling feet and look in his direction, watching as he cricket the table looking at it in agony then it shifts to bitterness.

Mycroft was by the doorway when John had called from halfway through to the door "Sherlock..." He calls out with a worried voice.

"No..." Says Sherlock and without any more to say, he lands his first hit on the wooden table, a replica of the original.

The broken detective keeps going, destroying everything on the table with an inch of his life as he expressed both his anger and anguish as to what he had potentially done to Irene Adler who had delivered her last words through a phone call. One by one, he smashed both wine glasses on the floor, the rose' glass vase, the porcelain plates, and he continues to throw both chairs on either side of the wall, and when they had not broken, he breaks them himself. And while he does, he shouts all of his emotions and regrets in the room, and both his friend and brother get to watch him suffer under the roofs of Sherrinford.

It was for a few more minutes later before Sherlock had finally resided on the ground, sitting and breathing heavily from destroying the diner table set. And when they knew that the little girl doesn't have much time, John makes a move to the handgun on the floor before facing his friend. He looked very much destroyed than the diner table and John knew how painful it was. If The Woman was indeed in danger, Sherlock had every right to feel like this. But after this, both the little girl and Irene Alder can be saved.

"I know this is difficult, and I know you're being tortured, but you have got to keep it together." The doctor said firmly, resisting to let him see how worried he was for his best friend. But he already knew that he could see it.

"This isn't torture, this is vivisection." Sherlock replies almost out of breath "We're experiencing science from the perspective of lab rats." The words he'd said were almost spat out from the anger that wills inside of him. And out of nowhere, his eyes' colors had returned and he spared a glance at his brother who remained leaning on the wall.

Sherlock chuckles and remembers what his blogger had said "Soldiers?"

He says and John gave him a quick genuine smile, happy to see how Sherlock has made a small recovery from his loss and it would seem he happens to have a silent promise to fulfill, seen in his eyes. John finally held out a hand to his friend and helps him up to his feet. He waits for Sherlock to brush off dust particles from his suit jacket and grab the pistol from his hand.

However, before he pulls it free from his grasp, John spoke "Listen," he said and it happens to have caught Sherlock's attention as his eyes drew to his "Wherever she is, after this, you'll still have time to save her."

He knew he didn't need to say it but he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to doubt what his heart wants and he wanted to plant hope inside that heart. And his assuring nod was enough to tell him that he had understood the context behind his words. John finally loosens his grip from the gun and finally made their way to the next room with an exhale while Sherlock spares one last glance at the unmoved rose on the ground and buttons his suit jacket once again.

Two will be saved today. Whatever it takes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Waverly."

It was the first word Eurus had said three days after her game she had called "The Final Problem". Once she's spoken, Sherlock had stopped midway from putting away his violin inside its case while he knelt on the cold shallow ground of Sherrinford. Though the word was familiar and of course, whatever Eurus says is always a code or a puzzle just for him which reminds him of her.

He remembers pausing for a few moments and soon turns to look at his sister "I'm sorry?" He had asked an obvious question it would seem now that he looks back on it.

Then his sister replies "Your flight tickets have been arranged. No, don't thank me. I had only talked some sense to Mycroft to do so for your own sake and sanity."

For anyone who had not known Eurus Holmes, her words would've elicited fear in the hearts of others. But to Sherlock, it would be a tease. Her cheeky smirk did not affect driving him on the edge of fear, now it only had him chuckling at their joke. And when he finally finishes zipping up the case, he stands when he had left, Eurus gave her parting words.

"Give her my regards, brother mine."

And from that point, he hadn't remembered his flight to Australia, and his journey to Sydney when the very moment he saw the tombstone of a woman named Lara Wolfe. The font was colored in gold while the stone was pearly black, dangerously similar to the one he had when he faked his death. The trip started with his heart hammering inside his chest and his strides long and hastily. He had also dreadfully admitted to the fact that he was excited to finally meet The Woman after a few months of separation and after what he had forced her to say in his sister's game. Now here he was, standing upon Lara Wolfe's tombstone, with nothing to offer to the dead before he takes his leave. And the only thing he could think of doing is to at least kneel and say a few words. And when he had opened his mouth, another one had spoken before him.

"Turning sentimental now, are we Mr. Holmes?"

Said the familiar voice, full of mischief and satire. And Sherlock was appalled by this appearance and could only let out a low laugh at his obliviousness to the situation while he shook his head. He then stands and looked up to the early blue skies of Sydney while he basks under the wind brought upon the sea from the cliff the cemetery stood upon and her easy steps towards him, while her heels click to the stone pathway.

Though when she stops behind him, she had bent down to place a bouquet of those dark red roses down the stone and finally stood up in her full height. They stood in silence as they looked upon the name carved in gold and they hadn't mind this peace. He hears her hum and had turned her back to the tombstone to look at the ocean. Sherlock did not follow her gaze, but he had his eyes on her jet brown hair that danced with the wind.

And he could help but ask "How did you know you were part of the game?"

The Woman hadn't left her eyes from the sea when she had replied "Were there ever times you spoke to me with such sentiments, Mr. Holmes?"

"You play too much, Woman." He deflects her wicked query and had finally looked at her elegant profile "... Just tell me."

She laughs genuinely at him and he doesn't seem to mind losing to her "Well, look at you. The Posh Boy finally begs." Irene jokes but with Sherlock's demanding stare, she also gives in. 

"You never sounded so, desperate when it came to both of us. Your voice had mostly taken it away. I dare say, you are an awful actor. Your voice fails to do justice to what you want me to believe."

"Huh, and what might I want for you to believe at that moment?" He dared asked and soon regrets the question as soon as she had her gaze pointed only at his own.

With a genuine smile and a small laugh, she replies "You wanted me to believe that you were above all emotion. You're human, Sherlock Holmes... and you can never deny that you are."

Their faces were inches away from each other, not noticing how they had shifted their bodies to face the other, while she looks up at him and he looking down at The Woman. For her petite bod figure, she seemed to always have her to gain the upper hand in their little games. But both knew they've ended the game long before.

Sherlock had not removed his eyes from her, still attempting to gain the upper hand "Still, I've beaten you before."

"Oh look at you flirting. You really do love me."

Sherlock then takes a sharp breath, as his heart continues to beat faster and faster in the passing second. Love. The irony of his last venomous words said to her.

_'This is your heart, and you should never let it rule your head.'_

The comforting silence grew and once they had grown full of this comfort given to each other, Sherlock then offers his arm. She takes it with both hands and he shivers in her touch, resulting in making her smile in triumph.

"So," Sherlock starts, as they began their walk side by side "It's Mrs. Norton, now?"

"Actually," she pauses, visibly pleased at his obvious question "I'm divorced."

"Ah, then, where to now?"

"The people after me might have reported my death to their boss, so all I have to do now is keep myself hidden entirely."

"Ah, I almost forgot."

"Hm?"

"My sister sends her regards."

They continue with their little chat, their worlds turning into a blur, carefree about the dangers that might come to both of them for they knew one would have the other's back. They smile and they laugh at their stories as they walked around Sydney, Australia. And on this moment, there was no Jim Moriarty, no murder cases, or any sort of distraction that would take away this moment from him, because at least, for now, there were no games.

Just two people, taking their first steps walking away from their past.

**E N D**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may be wondering why this was too short and how I wouldn't be able to continue this so I might as well just tell.
> 
> This is simply a drabble, a fix I had in my head ever since I rewatched and are-entered the Adlock Lala Land, and ye. Also, I have a bigger project for this Ship, do check it out! The title's "For a Single Rose"
> 
> And here ends this fix-it fix! Thank you for reading!  
> Kudos, Comments, and Shares are appreciated! <3
> 
> Keep safe!


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